Heading into the holiday season seems to raise the stress and anxiety levels of most everyone. Though often dismissed as just part of the rush and daily life, anxiety is not something to be overlooked or dismissed as just being “stressed out.” Taking steps to address anxiety can be vital for one’s physical, emotional and mental health.
Often occurring in conjunction with depression, anxiety and anxiety disorders account for the largest segment of mental health issues, with estimates of up to 33 percent of the population being affected by an anxiety disorder in their lifetime. Anxiety disorders include panic disorder, agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, specific phobia and separation anxiety disorder. Some symptoms of anxiety can include muscle tension, chest tightness, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, insomnia, digestive problems, nausea, panic attacks, irritability, difficulty concentrating, restlessness, sweating, anxiousness and inability to socialize.
Understanding a Natural Protection Mechanism on Overload
Fear is a vital mechanism for survival. Through all of our senses, the brain is continuously processing information and looking out for dangerous situations. Fear is associated with a clear and present danger, whereas anxiety occurs in the absence of an immediate threat. When our brain picks up on a trigger that may indicate danger, these messages get sent to two parts of the brain. A signal is sent to the cognitive part of the brain known as the prefrontal cortex. This part of the brain is where the information is processed to understand and evaluate whether the situation is safe or unsafe. Simultaneously, a signal is sent to the part of the brain known as the amygdala. The amygdala initiates the physical response, known as the “fight or flight response.” It creates an immediate change in our physiology, increasing heart rate, adrenaline, redirecting blood to our extremities and creating the feeling of anxiousness. These responses can occur before the cognitive part of the brain has even processed, which is critical when jumping out of the way of an oncoming car. It is also why someone might experience feeling anxiety, chest tightness or shortness of breath before understanding why.
While these responses are critical in emergency situations, in today’s lifestyle, constant stress and certain belief patterns can trigger our nervous systems to create scenarios where the body is continually living in “fight or flight” mode. This robs us of the vital part of the nervous system, which takes care of recovery and repair of all of our body systems. As such, our physical, emotional and mental health can suffer short term and long term.
Helping to understand the root causes can be vital in addressing anxiety. Jenna Galligani, MS, LPC, a licensed counselor and owner of Holistic Awakenings in Bethlehem, describes anxiety to her clients as “our fears of the past and worries of the future. It feels like the present moment, but it’s not.”
She helps clients address anxiety through a multidimensional approach, acknowledging both the cognitive as well as the “fight or flight” parts of the brain. Techniques include traditional cognitive therapy, looking at the thought patterns and belief systems, breathwork, meditation, mindfulness and lifestyle shifts. Galligani also utilizes reiki, EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique, utilizing tapping to break patterns of thought), EMDR and Brainspotting (which utilizes eye movement) to tap directly into the “fight or flight” mechanism. Her focus is on empowering the client with both understanding as well as the skills for them to live their best life.
It’s Not Who You Are
A common misconception that Galligani hears is, “I’m just an anxious person.” To clarify, anxiety is not a personality trait, it is a symptom. “We are our thoughts and our thoughts become us. How we look at situations is important and directly impacts our response,” Galligani says. “When feeling that anxiety is controlling you then we have to go back and figure where that came from and find different tools to work it out.”
When to Seek Help
Seeking outside support doesn’t have to wait until a crisis state. Just like maintaining good physical health, being proactive can alleviate unnecessary suffering as well as prevent anxiety from escalating. If your sleep is being affected, you are struggling to stay focused, feel irritable
or snap more easily or have experienced a change in appetite, all may be signals from your body to seek outside support. Galligani also suggests that when you feel like things are becoming a lot and your current practices aren’t providing you self-soothing regulation, it can be helpful to seek a professional. She shares that it may be as little as two to three sessions to learn some simple techniques or lifestyle changes that can provide the tools needed. Some situations may be more deep-rooted and require more in-depth work to address the root of the anxiety response.
6 Lifestyle Tools We All Can Use
1. Time Management
Especially during the holiday season, there are added obligations and tasks on people’s plates, with more social engagements, gift-giving and the stress of shopping. Galligani sees an increase in anxiety during the holidays as people struggle with time management and the illusion that they don’t have time. “Time exists in the way we experience it,” she says. “That comes back to our own responsibility and how we choose to prioritize what is important.” Sometimes, that requires us to say no to an event, set boundaries and not be everything to everyone. This also may require understanding and releasing ourself of guilt in the process.
2. Sleep
Though sleep is often affected, taking steps to create a consistent bedtime, eliminating stimulus prior to bed, having a dark room and a nightly wind-down ritual can help promote better sleep patterns.
3. Healthy Diet
A balanced diet, consisting of organic proteins and rich in anti-inflammatory vegetables, as well as healthy fats, not only helps keep blood sugar and hormone levels even, it provides critical nutrients for the neurotransmitters that help synthesize and balance one’s mood and stress response. Avoiding stimulants, sugary and processed foods is also critical.
4. Exercise
Not only is regular exercise a critical and powerful tool to help prevent anxiety and improve symptoms of depression, exercise can be an immediate tool to help burn off the adrenaline response during an anxiety episode.
5. Breathwork
Our breathing patterns have a direct connection to the “flight or fight” nervous system. Simply slowing down breath, breathing in and out of one’s nose and focusing on a longer exhale can help lower heart rate and blood pressure and revert the body to “repair and recover” mode.
6. Mindfulness and Meditation
Being present in the moment and pausing to meditate can provide a reset and restorative time for the body and mind. Mindfulness can be practiced anytime and meditation can be as little as five minutes in a quiet space to provide benefit.
Suffering through stress and anxiety doesn’t have to be a badge of honor or just an accepted perceived state of being. Addressing anxiety through simple practices as well as seeking professional support are steps for which your whole self will thank you.
